


Love, Whiskey and Chess

by oceans_and_lovers



Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Genre: Beautiful beautiful Gaby, Chess, F/M, Fluff, Illya's head over heels for his chop shop girl, More specifically cheating at chess, One-Shot, Tipsy Gaby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-18 03:05:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14203656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceans_and_lovers/pseuds/oceans_and_lovers
Summary: "She was tipsy, confident and wearing his jacket and engagement ring - Illya could hardly focus on the chessboard in front of him; his eyes were constantly being drawn to her like a moth to an open flame."-Illya is playing chess, and a tipsy Gaby decides to play. Or rather, Gaby cheats at chess and Illya is completely in love.





	Love, Whiskey and Chess

**Author's Note:**

> Translation (done badly using Google translate sorry):
> 
> "In der Liebe und im Krieg ist alles erlaubt." = All is fair in love and war.
> 
> "шах и мат." = Checkmate.

She was tipsy, confident and wearing his jacket and engagement ring - Illya could hardly focus on the chessboard in front of him; his eyes were constantly being drawn to her like a moth to an open flame.

He clenched his fists and breathed in the hotel room's perfumed air.

They'd just completed a tense mission and with Solo due back from leave in two days time, Waverley had demanded they both relax till them.

As if he could ever relax with Gaby so close by.

It had only been a month since Rome yet -

“Are you going to brood all evening?”

Gaby fell back onto the expensive sofa, a bottle of whiskey in one hand and the other shoved his shoulder playfully, a giggle light upon her stained lips.

His jacket was stained too, Gaby clearly having rubbed off her lipstick onto the cuffs, and it hung almost to her knees, covering her thin pyjama vest and shorts - both of which were hardly appropriate for a mission in winter.

“Am not brooding - just thinking,” he said, and Gaby rolled her eyes and sank back further, taking a gulp from the bottle.

 

The minutes passed in silence as he continued moving his pieces and Gaby nursed her drink, staring at him.

It was hardly a surprise then to Illya when she stood up abruptly and moved away from the sofa. He expected her to play loud music and dance as she did back in Rome - this time though, the German woman sat opposite him on the floor, saying, “Teach me.”

He merely raised his eyebrows, and Gaby slammed the near-empty bottle on the floor in order to place both her hands on her hip, jutting out her chin and glaring at him. 

 

Then she pushed all the pieces off the table without so much as blinking.

Illya sighed and simply leant down to retrieve the chess pieces, but before he could take hold of one, Gaby grabbed one of his wrists and said,

“Teach me Illya.”

If she hadn’t had slurred her words, Illya thought they could have held some venom, but, as it was, they had little effect on him.

It was only when Gaby muttered please in that soft voice he couldn’t refuse, that Illya nodded curtly and placed the chess pieces back upon the board for them both to play.

 

Gaby, after grinning and emptying the whisky bottle of its content, skirted closer to the coffee table with such characteristic inelegance that Illya couldn’t help but smile, ducking his head as he did so to avoid detection.

“You play chess before?”

Gaby, who now was slumping forwards with her chin upon her table, shook her head.

This was going to be a long night.

“Aim of chess is to capture my king,” - He tapped the black king lightly - “Called checkmate.”

“I know that Illya.”

“You said you never played before?”

Gaby sat up and dragged the sleeves of his jacket down her face.

“You know, we should just go for it.”

Once again, Illya shook his head, but Gaby was already moving a white pawn, and the game began.

 

“Gaby that is not correct.”

As he said it, Illya reached across the board to put a hand atop of Gaby’s, which was placing her queen halfway across the board.

“Well,” Gaby said, “In der Liebe und im Krieg ist alles erlaubt.”

It was nearing eleven, so Illya let it slide, but moves like it occured over and over again, with Gaby declaring,

“My pawns are now free, the queen commanded it,” and “My castle thing is now here.”

However, the mechanic was glowing, in Illya’s eyes, so he conceded to the chaos that was Gaby Teller’s drunken logic and smiled whenever she laughed and captured one of his  
pieces.

 

But they were both tired, and soon, soon Gaby was resting her head upon her folded arms and only moving a piece when Illya murmured her name.

 

And then Gaby was snoring softly, wisps of hair falling across her forehead just as Illya whispered, 

“You won, chop-shop girl. шах и мат.” 

 

But Gaby remained asleep, unaware of her victory or of Illya’s gentle arms encircling her to carry her, just like in Rome, back to bed.


End file.
